


Roaring Thunder

by AshedAshley



Category: Project Wingman (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, Fighter Pilots, Gen, Military, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Third Person, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:06:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28408971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshedAshley/pseuds/AshedAshley
Summary: Five years after the end of the Cascadian Conflict, the Federation continues to be pushed back on all sides as more states break away. However, they're not ready to admit defeat just yet. As they fight to make one last push to save themselves, the other world superpowers enlist the help of mercenaries like the Paladin Mercenary Corps to finish the Federation once and for all.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. The Mercenary

Thunder Island Air Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 18th, 437 AC

2:38 PM Local Time

“All aircraft, take off immediately! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill.” A voice on the PA cut through the loud shrieks of the air-raid sirens echoing through the air.

Five years back, Thunder Island Air Base was nothing special- just an airfield on a sandy island in the Pacific. It’d be a boring post for any Federation pilots stationed there, but at least they’d get some sun. Nowadays, though, it was a lynchpin in the Asean Republic’s civil war. Both sides of the conflict had been unusually quiet for the past few weeks, but it was the Government Loyalists that made the first move.

The base’s hangars were in complete chaos. Mechanics were running around like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to determine what was working and what wasn’t after the first bombing run. All the while, pilots scrambled to their planes to take off as fast as they could. One such pilot just finished climbing into the front seat of an F/E-4. The plane itself was nothing out of the ordinary, just a simple gray camo with the mercenary roundel. The only thing that would stand out about it was the personalized emblem on the tail: a katana with red kanji lettering next to it, which read as the pilot’s tac name, Samurai. Also known as Jay Cross. He put his oxygen mask over his face and slid his helmet’s visor down over his blue eyes.

“Control, this is Templar 1. Am I clear to take off?” he asked.

“Negative Templar 1. The runway isn’t free yet, standby,” came the reply.

Jay sighed and leaned back in his seat, bouncing his leg anxiously. “Fine, I’ve gotta wait for Nyx anyway,” he murmured.

Suddenly, a young woman with black hair to her neck and green eyes came running into the hangar as if on cue. She haphazardly slid her helmet on and climbed up into the seat behind Jay’s. “Are we ready?” she asked as she put on her oxygen mask.

Jay shook his head. “Noy yet, Nyx. We’re still getting loaded up. Besides, the runway isn’t clear yet,” he told her.

“Goddammit,” she growled. “There could be a bomb dropped on our head at any second, and we’re just sitting here.”

“Not for much longer, it looks like,” Jay observed as the ground crew started to step away from their plane and give the two of them a thumbs up. “Templar Team, how are you guys doing?” He looked over his left shoulder at the MG-29, expecting a response from its pilot first.

“Templar 2, ready to go,” the deep voice Jay had come to expect from Eagle reported.

“Templar 3 here, the ol’ Viper and I are standing by,” Mustang chimed in. “Hey, Jolt, how’s that rust-bucket Fishbed of yours?” he asked mockingly.

“Doing _just fine_ , Mustang,” Jolt replied in an equally mocking tone. “I’m all primed and ready.”

“Good,” Control cut in. “Because the runway is clear. Templar Team, begin takeoff procedures ASAP.”

The hangar doors slowly slid open, and sunlight lit up the room. The battle scene unfolded before their eyes, with bombers flying off to make another pass over the base and fighters from both sides painting the sky white with missile trails. The roar of engines and gunfire, while slightly muffled by the canopy, mixed with the blaring sirens and added another layer to the chaos.

“Alright, Templar Team, time to make some scratch,” Jay said, taxying onto the runway. He turned to look over his shoulder. “You ready, Nyx?”

She gave him a thumbs up. “I always am Samurai. Now let’s get up there before we get roasted on the ground.”

Jay turned his attention back to the runway in front of him and increased his speed. He could feel himself sinking into his feet as the plane got faster and faster until finally, they lifted off the ground and into the sky. Choosing not to waste any time, Jay retracted the landing gear and pitched up into the sky as hard as the Phantom would allow.

ALF, PALADIN MERCENARY CORPS

THUNDER ISLAND AIR BASE

TEMPLAR 1

(SAMURAI + NYX)

“Templar 1, takeoff confirmed,” Control reported. “Get out there and give ‘em hell.”

“Good to see you finally joined the party, Samurai,” a new, older man’s voice quipped. “Was beginning to think you’d miss out on all the action.”

“Oh, come on, you know me, Cyborg. I’d never miss out on a party like this,” Jay replied.

“Let’s get cracking then. Knight Team, we’ll go for the bombers. Templar Team, cover us and take out the escorts,” Cyborg ordered.

“Oh, you’re giving us the fun job for once, eh boss?” Nyx asked with a lighthearted chuckle.

“Hey, what can I say? I’m feeling generous,” he replied.

“Alright, Paladin, let’s cut the chatter and get to work,” a new voice said.

“Oh, hey, Stallion. Are you up in the air yet?” Star, one of the pilots in Knight Team, asked.

“No, we’re not, because Templar is taking _forever_ to take off,” Stallion said impatiently.

Mustang laughed as he pulled up off the runway. “Quit bitching, Stallion. Jolt’s almost up,” he told the AWACS operator.

“Well, in that case, let’s get to work. Templar 1, engaging.” Jay’s eyes darted around until he finally set his sights on the nearest enemy fighter, an F/D-14. “Nyx, the Tomcat. See it?”

“Yep, tracking!” she replied, setting the plane in question to their active target.

Jay watched as the target indicator turned red, indicating a solid lock, but instead of firing missiles, he opted to get in closer and fire a burst from the machine gun. All it took was a few shots to send the plane spiraling down into the sea below. Suddenly, another tone went off inside the cockpit, a more sinister-sounding one.

“Missile on our ass, evade it!” Nyx warned.

Jay pulled up as hard as he could, although the F/E-4’s low maneuverability wasn’t making it any easier. The missile tone got faster as it came up behind them, but it couldn’t quite match the Phantom’s move and flew right underneath them. As Jay completed the loop he made, he got a good look at their pursuer.

‘ _Where the hell did the Loyalists get VX-23s?_ ’ he thought. ‘ _I thought they were just as short on planes as we were._ ’

The enemy fighter almost completely stopped mid-air and spun around to face Jay and Nyx. Jay braced himself, hoping to be able to turn fast enough to avoid their missiles, when a sudden pair of missiles came crashing into the VX-23, and an MG-21 went speeding past the fireball that remained.

Jay couldn’t help but let out a little sigh of relief. “Nice timing, Jolt! Thought Nyx and I were goners for a second. Guess we both owe you a drink then.”

“Woah, woah! Samurai and Nyx owe someone else a drink? Is that a first?” Mustang asked.

“I think it is,” Eagle agreed. “Jolt, you better savor every sip of that drink. Not every day you get one from those two.”

Jay rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you can make fun of me all you want when we get back. For now, let’s focus on these escorts,” he said dismissively before turning to face the nearest enemy fighter, an F/E-18. As soon as Jay leveled his plane out, he and the Super Hornet were headed straight for each other. He sped up and kept his finger on the trigger, watching as the distance to the target got smaller and smaller on his HUD. As soon as he had a solid tone, he fired two missiles and pulled away, only barely avoiding the subsequent explosion.

“Finally! All aircraft, this the mercenary AWACS Stallion. We’re airborne and getting to work. Intercept all bombers and drive back the attack,” Stallion ordered.

“Can’t we send a request for reinforcements?” Star asked. “They keep going on about how important this base is, so you’d think they’d want to do everything they can to keep it.”

“Negative, Knight 4. Based on comms, it seems that the Loyalists are launching attacks like this all up and down the frontlines,” Stallion reported. “In other words, we’re on our own.”

“How did they get the resources to pull something like this off?” Eagle asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Stallion admitted. “Seems they’ve been busy the last few weeks.”

“Busy or not, we’ll still smack ‘em down because that’s what we’re getting paid to do,” Cyborg reminded them. “Now, let’s go.”

After gunning down another Tomcat, Jay rolled onto his side and made a U-turn toward the VX-23 that was moving in on Mustang’s tail. He fired missiles, and it looked as if they were trying to escape, but they didn’t react fast enough.

“Now you owe us a drink, Mustang,” Nyx said smugly.

“Ah, dammit. Fine, fine, whatever,” Mustang muttered. “I’ll be honest; I was hoping it’d be just you two buying drinks for tonight.”

“Oh come on, Mustang, you know it’s not a proper Paladin sortie unless someone ends up buying drinks for Samurai and Nyx,” Jolt reminded him.

Jay shrugged. “Hey, it’s not our fault. All you’ve gotta do is watch your backs more.”

Eagle scoffed. “Yeah, that’s easy for you to say, Samurai. You’ve got an extra set of eyes.”

“Templar heads up. Enemy transports incoming from bearing 240. Looks like they’re gonna try a ground assault on the base,” Stallion announced. “The other ALF pilots will deal with the escorts. You guys deal with the transports.”

“Roger. We’ll take care of ‘em,” Jay assured him. “Templar Team, form up on me.”

Jay set his course straight for the enemy transports that had appeared on the radar and hit the afterburners. He checked over his shoulders to make sure the others were behind him and set his sights on the nearest of the six C/T-17s.

“Tracking target, we’re ready to fire as soon as they’re in range,” Nyx reported.

“Keep it steady,” Jay told her. “Not yet, aaand… now!” He fired two standard missiles, followed up with a short machine gun burst, and sent the transport crashing down. Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt did the same, leaving only two left. By the time Templar finished turning around to make another pass, though, the transports were going over the base. “Stallion, enemy transports are dropping paratroopers over the base!” Jay warned him. “Tell Ritari and the ALF troops that they’d better be ready for a fight.”

“Roger, letting them know,” Stallion responded.

“Somebody get this guy off my ass! I can’t-“ the voice of an ALF pilot was quickly replaced by static.

“Falcon 3 is down! We’re losing-“ Another one gone.

“There’s too many of them. We’ll all be dead by the time-“

“We’re losing pilots!” Eagle growled. “We’ve gotta help them.”

“I wouldn’t rush to their aid just yet. We’ve got more trouble inbound, same vector as before,” Stallion informed them. “Looks like the Loyalists are making one last push, and by god, it’s one hell of a push. They’re bringing in an Arcion-class cruiser!”

“How the hell did they get an Arcion?” Shades, one of the other Knight pilots, asked.

“We can worry about that later, but we’ve gotta move, now! Knight, we’ll deal with the reinforcements. Templar, you go save our allies,” Cyborg ordered.

“Wilco. Let’s go, boys!” Jay asserted, turning back in the direction of the furball that was quickly leaning into the Loyalists’ favor. “Nyx,” he said, turning around to face the WSO. “Get those MLAAs ready. We’ll need ‘em.”

“Oh, come on, Samurai. You don’t think I know you well enough to be getting them ready?” she quipped.

Jay shrugged, smirking a bit. “Alright, fair enough. Let’s put an end to this.”

Gradually, one target turned to two, two turned to four, and four turned to six. Missiles spewed out from under the Phantom’s wings and split off from one another as they closed in on their targets. Three of the missiles found their marks, but the other three were either evaded or lost their target because of flares. Jay set himself parallel to one of the planes that evaded his missiles and fired his machine guns, bringing them down.

“Knight, Templar. Ritari’s telling me they’ve staved off the ground assault,” Stallion reported. “Your targets are all that’s left of the Loyalists’ invasion force.”

Before anyone had a chance to reply, Knight 3, otherwise known as Tux, cried out desperately, “Star, get away from that railgun, quick!” Her voice was laced with fear and desperation.

Star grunted, presumably as he tried to make an effort to break off. “Shit! Those missiles are everywhere! I can’t get awa-“ The static that followed confirmed his fate.

“Star!” Shades’ voice sounded just as desperate as Tux’s.

“No, no, no- dammit!” The sound of Stallion slamming his fist on the console was crystal clear. “Knight 4 is down.”

“Damn it all!” Cyborg cursed. “These Loyalists bastards are gonna regret that!”

Jay was so taken aback by Star’s sudden death that he didn’t notice the plane coming up behind him. Nyx had to reach up and tap him on the helmet. Once he snapped back into reality, Jay pulled up as hard as he could, only narrowly avoiding their pursuers gunfire, and rolled onto his side to pull back around. The VX-23 tailing them, however, was keeping up effortlessly. Jay popped flares and went straight down to the water. He expected the pilot to follow, which they did, but Jay was simply trying to stay alive by then. The VX-23 would outmaneuver his F/E-4 every time, and he was barely keeping himself and Nyx from getting hit by a missile. Suddenly, Eagle flew right over him, firing machine guns, and landed several hits on the VX-23. Jay used this as an opportunity to get on their six and finish them off with a missile. He felt himself sink into his seat and let out a heavy breath of relief.

“Thanks for the help, Eagle.” Jay only barely managed to get the words out.

“Don’t worry about it,” was all that Eagle said.

“Paladin, picture is clean. Mission is complete,” Stallion said. Although, it was in a far different voice than Jay had come to expect from him, not that he blamed him. “Dammit, I can’t believe this shit,” he muttered.

Jay loosened his grip on the control stick for a moment and steadied his breathing. It was then that he took a moment to pause and look around. Aside from the seven mercenary pilots left, including himself, only a handful of ALF pilots remained. Not to mention, he was sure that after the bombing runs, the situation on the ground wasn’t much better.

“Let’s get back on the ground,” he said softly. “What a nightmare.”


	2. Faded Stars

Thunder Island Air Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 18th, 437 AC

4:15 PM Local Time

“Shit.” After a long silence in Paladin’s hangar, Jay was the first to speak up. He climbed out of his Phantom’s cockpit and jumped onto the hangar floor.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Cyborg agreed, nodding his head slowly.

Tux let out a heavy sigh. “It was all my fault. I- I was right there with him- I should’ve-“

“Hey, knock that off,” Cyborg cut her off. “Shades and I were there too. We’re just as responsible. If anything, I should be the one taking all the blame.” He leaned up against the wall. “I have to look out for every single one of you.” His eyes drifted across the room, making contact with each pilot. “Especially the three of you,” he added, nodding to Tux, Shades, and an empty spot where Star likely would’ve been. “That’s my job, not just as your flight lead or even your boss, but as your family. When I lose one of you, I’ll _always_ be responsible, and that’s why.”

“Boss…” Jay began before pausing, unsure of how to phrase the words in his head. He had never really been good with processing loss or helping others with it, despite having so much of it in his past. “Look around,” he finally said, gesturing to the whole room. “Look at how many of us there are, and this isn’t even all of us. No one person should have that much weight on their shoulders. You said it yourself: we’re a family, and families look out for each other- just like how Star was looking out for us when he took on that Arcion. He may not have intended to, but in the end, he gave his life so that we could live. It’s up to us to make sure we honor that.”

“We’re gonna have to hold some kinda funeral for him,” Stallion finally spoke up for the first time since landing.

“I can go have a look around our room and see if I can find something to bury in his place,” Shades offered, straightening up.

Cyborg nodded. “Good. The rest of you, do whatever you feel you need to to get ready.”

Everyone turned their attention to the sudden opening of the door to the hangar as an ALF soldier entered. “Uhh… Paladin?” he asked timidly. “General Alston is requesting that everyone be present for a debriefing ASAP- said it was urgent,” he informed the group of mercenaries.

“Alright, we’ll be right there,” Cyborg assured him before turning his attention back to the other pilots. “Let’s go; we can finish planning this out after.”

“As I’m sure you’re all aware,” Alston began. “We suffered heavy losses after today’s attack by the Loyalists. However, we likely would have lost a lot more were it not for the Paladin Mercenary Corps, so I’d like to sincerely thank you in that respect.” He nodded approvingly at the mercenaries. “Unfortunately, that’s about all the good news I can bring. Ever since the attack, we’ve been working ‘round the clock to make contact with our other bases on the front lines,” Alston explained.

He turned his attention to the projector sitting next to him and flicked it on, placing a slide showing the Asean Republic on it. After quickly grabbing several whiteboard markers from the table, he took the blue one and marked Thunder Island.

“Despite our efforts, they’ve all been non-responsive. A communications jam is unlikely because we’re able to raise other outposts further north with no issues. With these facts put together, we believe that the Loyalists took over these bases, leaving us cut off and behind enemy lines,” Alston said, drawing a line across the Asean Republic in red and putting Thunder Island far below said line. He took a deep breath and leaned against the projector. “Look, I know that this isn’t what you all were hoping to hear. However, we can’t give up- we _won’t_ give up because if we do, then the Asean Liberation Front falls. The entire war hinges on this base, and I don’t plan on letting it fall into the hands of those Loyalist dogs.” He started pacing around the front of the room. “We’ll need to formulate a plan still, but whatever we do, we need to do it quickly. It’s only a matter of time before the Loyalists try to take this base again. For now, though, get some rest. You’ve all earned it. Cyborg, your input in this plan would be a big help.”

“I’ll join you in a little while, General. For now, Paladin has some business we need to attend to,” Cyborg told Alston.

“I can’t believe this,” Jay muttered, unzipping his flight suit. “I don’t think this situation could get any more FUBAR.”

“Careful,” Eagle warned him. “You say things like that, and it’s bound to get worse.”

Jay sighed. “I just- I don’t get it. How did things go so wrong? This was supposed to be a quick job, and now we might not even make it out alive. I mean, we already lost Star, so who’s next? You? Me? Mustang? Jolt? Nyx? Or maybe it’ll be all of us together.” He undid his ponytail, letting his light brown hair fall to his shoulders.

“Yeah, I get what you mean,” Eagle admitted. His expression softened a bit, which was rare for him. His scarred faced often betrayed no emotion. “Makes me think back to all the truly small jobs we’d get, like the time we had to escort that politician’s plane, and nothing happened.” He smiled a bit at the fond memory while putting on a pair of dress pants.

Jay nodded as the memory came up in his mind as well. “Ah yeah, I remember that. It was the first time you flew as Templar 2, right?” He took off his regular white t-shirt and put a dress shirt on in its place.

“Yep. We’ve come a long way since then, haven’t we? All of us. Jolt joined us a few months later, and things stayed that way for a long damn time.” Eagle adjusted his necktie and slid on his suit jacket.

“Until now, that is,” Jay added solemnly. As he took out his suit jacket from his bag, he spotted a small pin underneath it. It was violet in color and looked almost like crystals or a flower with four ‘petals’ branching out. Jay quickly glanced over his shoulder to check if Eagle was looking before burying it further in his bag. As much as he wished he could just throw the damn thing in the ocean, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Eagle stood up and wrapped each of his arms behind his head until they responded with a pop. “Well, you ready? The sooner we get this done, the better,” he muttered.

“Just a sec,” Jay told him, springing to his feet and hastily buttoning up his jacket. He put some product in his hair and combed it all back before tying it back into a ponytail. “Alright, let’s go.”

As the two pilots left their room, they almost immediately ran into Nyx and Tux, both wearing suits as well. After exchanging a few brief words, they all went together, making their way through the winding halls of the base before finally coming to the entrance and stepping outside. By then, several hours had passed since the attack, and the sun was starting to set, which cast a stunning orange glow over the ocean. Down on the beach, facing the sunset, the rest of Paladin had already gathered, and Jay, Eagle, Nyx, and Tux went to join them. Mustang sat on the sand, strumming a tune on his acoustic guitar.

Cyborg stepped forward and turned to face the group. “You know why we’re all gathered here: we lost a brother today. Now… we come to remember his life and send him off right- as any Paladin deserves.” He produced two items from his pockets: a medal and a combat knife. “This is the Asean Medal of Bravery. For those of you who didn’t know, Star was in the Asean Air Force for a time before joining us. He got this medal when he covered the retreat of his whole squadron by himself, against impossible odds. When I first got the offer for this job, Star was by far the most vocal about wanting me to accept it. He said he wanted to fight to better his homeland so that he might feel proud to call himself Asean again.” Cyborg leaned down and made a small hole in the sand, and gently placed the medal inside before covering it back up. He took the knife in his hands and thrust it into the ground. “Rest easy, Star. May your soul be free to soar through the open skies forever.” Cyborg stood up and rejoined the crowd.

Shades was the next person to step forward. “When I think about Star, I often think back to our first time in the air together. We were going into this massive furball, and quite frankly, I wasn’t sure we were gonna come out of it in one piece. Star came up behind me and said, “Hey, don’t worry about it. As long as we’ve got each other’s backs, we’ll be just fine,” and boy was he right,” Shades chuckled a bit. “Star and I went crazy on ‘em. I still haven’t bagged as many kills in one sortie as I did during that mission. That was Star in a nutshell, now that I think about it. Loyal to a fault, and he’d follow you to the gates of hell and back. Goodbye, Star, and never stop fighting.”

Stallion took Shades’ place in front of the group. “I- Well, I’ve never really been uh… y’know, good with things like these, but I just wanted to say that Star was truly special. He had this sort of like- charm, I guess, that you just don’t see often. He would always brighten my day without fail, and that meant a lot to me.” He nodded to the knife in the sand and stepped back.

One by one, people went up to either share one of their fondest memories with Star or share how much he meant to them. Then, it was quiet. A warm breeze blew through the air, rustling everyone’s hair and clothes, but they didn’t mind. Each Paladin mercenary just stood there, looking at that knife and reflecting on what it meant to them. As minutes passed and the sun disappeared behind the horizon, people slowly started to make their way back to the base, but not a single one left without saluting the knife. Jay was among the last to go, but as he started heading back inside, he stopped and turned around. Cyborg was the last one still there, sitting all alone on the beach, illuminated by moonlight.

Jay took a deep breath and walked back over to stand alongside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Y’know, what I said before still stands. You don’t have to do this alone. We’re in this together- ‘till the very end. That’s what it means to be part of Paladin.” He paused before smiling a bit. “You told me that when I first joined,” he added.

Cyborg nodded, looking out at the ocean in front of them. “Whatever happens next, I know that’ll hold true.” He finally took his eyes off the water and looked at Jay. “Thank you, Samurai.”

Jay shrugged. “Hey, that’s what families are for, right?” He patted Cyborg’s shoulder before turning to head back inside.


	3. The Fall of Allessia

Allessia

Yakutia, Federation Mainland

March 19th, 437 AC

11:18 AM Local Time

“Violet Squadron, Alessia on the nose,” the AWACS said in her usual matter-of-fact tone. “Begin providing a window for allied aircraft to escape.”

A flight of eight planes heading southbound, four VX-23s and four SK.37s, moved in a rigid formation, unshaken by the sea of hostiles on their radars. They all bore the Federation flag on their tails and the peacekeeping emblem in violet, along with a personalized symbol.

“Roger that, Skyline,” Violet 1, otherwise known as Cap, replied. “What about the ground forces? Are we going to be providing them with a window as well?”

At first, Skyline’s only reply was a sigh after a long pause. “We’re stretched too thin as it is. If you can, go for it, but remember that covering our fighters’ retreat is your main priority.”

“Wonder if the guys on the ground know they’re doomed because command thinks the air force is more important,” Violet 8, callsign Doc, wondered.

“Cut the chatter, Violet 8,” Cap ordered before anyone else could respond to him. “Violet 2, 5, and 6, form up on my wing. We’re gonna keep those air cruisers busy. The rest of you take out as many fighters as you can. Remember, we’re not here to secure air superiority. We just need to buy our allies time to escape.”

One of the SK.37 pilots, Natalie Page, slipped into formation behind Cap. “Roger that, sir. I’m right behind you and ready to go,” she responded to his order.

FEDERATION PEACEKEEPING SQUADRON VIOLET

CLOUDFALL AIR BASE

VIOLET 5

(WINTER)

“All allied aircraft above Allessia, this is the AWACS Skyline for Peacekeeping Squadron Violet. We’re entering the AO now. If you wanna live, rally behind the Peacekeepers,” Skyline ordered.

Natalie tightened her grip on the control stick and set herself up for an attack on one of the Anuras, climbing up to a high altitude to attack it from above. She switched to her MLAAs and waited for the airship’s defenses to get within range. One by one, they all lit up red, indicating a stable lock. As she got closer to the Anura, Natalie started weaving through the hail of anti-air fire the airship was sending up at her before finally letting her missiles fly. Not a single one missed its target, leaving the Anura exposed for Natalie to pass right by and loop around to finish it off with STDMs and a machine gun burst.

“They’re all over me. I can’t break away!” a Federation pilot cried out.

“We can’t hold out much longer,” another one added. “We need to get out of here!”

“This is Captain Tarren. We’ve got tanks closing in all around us; we need air support, please!”

Skyline took a deep breath. “Captain, this Skyline. I regret to inform you that we are unable to provide air support at this time. I’m sorry.”

“Please! Don’t just leave us here,” Tarren pleaded. “We’ll die if you don’t do anything.”

“Dammit,” Doc cursed. “We have to do something. We can’t just leave them to die.”

“We can’t make a guarantee that they would make it out of the city, even with our help,” Cap told him. “At least we can help the other aircraft break off.”

Tarren scoffed. “Some Peacekeeper you are.” His tone had shifted from desperate to venomous. “The blood of each man here on the ground is on your hands. I hope you realize that.”

Natalie set her sights on a Littoria that was turning toward the retreating allies. This time, she attacked from below, firing standard missiles to take out the airship’s CIWS defenses and then break off before smashing into it. As she looped around to make another pass, the SAM launchers on the Littoria opened fire on her. The alert in her cockpit started to get faster as the missiles got closer. Natalie pitched up into the sky before the missiles hit their marks, which sent them cruising off into the distance. She climbed higher into the sky before leveling out her plane and diving down toward the Littoria with a burst of MLAA missiles. Due to the angle that the airship was at from turning, some of the multi-lock missiles missed, leaving a pair of SAM launchers still operational. They fired another salvo, but Natalie shook them off with flares. She made a tight U-turn and found herself in a perfect position to finish the Littoria off, which she quickly took advantage of.

“That’s another airship down,” she reported as she watched the remains of the Littoria fall to the ground. “How ya holding up, Wires?” She turned her attention to Violet 6’s VX-23, which was flying circles around an Anura.

“These Coalition bastards really aren’t making this easy for us,” he grunted as he made a sharp turn to shake off a missile.

“Violet Squadron, heads up,” Skyline warned. “More enemy fighters are inbound. Intercept them before they can jump on our allies.”

Natalie looked down at her radar and saw a flight of F/S-15s and SK.27s coming in fast, and without a moment’s hesitation, she turned to engage them. She was about to fire another MLAA salvo at them but stopped when she noticed her ammo count. “Only got enough for one more,” she muttered to herself. “I’ll save it just in case.” As Natalie headed straight for the enemy fighters, she switched back to her standard missiles and fired two of them at an F/S-15 before gunning down a second one. A lock warning started going off in her cockpit, but it was silenced when Violet 7, Hammer, shot down the plane behind her and flew past. Natalie was about to thank him when she spotted another enemy fighter coming up below him, which she promptly shot down with her machine guns.

“Skyline, how does our allies’ retreat look?” Cap asked. “I don’t know if we can keep this up for much longer.”

“They’re almost clear of the AO, Violet 1. Just hold out a little longer,” Skyline answered. “Wait… what the hell?” The confusion in her voice was very apparent. “More enemy fighters incoming, but the IFF signatures are coming from the Republic of Albion. It’s some kinda elite squadron- callsign Rune.”

“What? I thought the Republic of Albion wasn’t part of the Coalition. Are you sure?” Wires asked.

“What the hell kind of question is that? Of course, I’m sure!” Skyline snapped.

“We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to get our allies out of here. Violet 2, 3, and 4 form up on me. We’re gonna engage these bastards and keep ‘em busy. 5, 6, 7, and 8 get them out of here,” Cap ordered.

“What?” Skyline asked in disbelief. “Cap, there’s twelve of them. You four can’t possibly hope to take them on by yourself.”

“Getting those fighters out of here is all that matters,” he responded aggressively. “We’ve lost enough men today, so just go!”

“Don’t worry, Cap,” Natalie assured him. “Once the friendlies are clear of the AO, we’ll come right back to help-“

“Don’t bother,” Cap cut her off. “If we’re not back by then, we’re dead.”

“Damn it, Cap!” Hammer cut in. “You can’t just expect us to let you go and get yourselves killed, can you?”

“You can, and you goddamn will because I told you to. Now go, before it’s too late!” Cap snapped.

Natalie waited for a moment, trying to think of what to say that might change his mind before ultimately giving up with a heavy sigh. “Violet 6, 7, and 8, let’s go,” she finally said. “We need to keep those fighters safe.”

Once Natalie and the rest of Violet left with the allied fighters, an awkward silence set in. All she chose to hear was the humming over engines outside her cockpit. For a moment, she almost tricked herself into thinking that nothing had gone wrong, but that illusion was gone seconds later when Skyline broke the silence.

“Violet, we’re a few miles out from Cloudfall. Prepare to land,” she instructed. Her voice was shaky, all but confirming Natalie’s suspicions.

Natalie sank into her seat. It was at that moment that the whole situation truly dawned on her. Not only was Cap gone, but that meant she was in charge of Violet Squadron, or rather, what remained of it. The only word she could manage to get out was, “Shit.”


	4. Cloudfall

Cloudfall Air Base

Yakutia, Federation Mainland

March 19th, 437 AC

12:30 PM Local Time

After taxying into the hangar, the remaining Violet Squadron pilots climbed out of their planes and onto the cold hard concrete floor. By that point, Natalie’s brain was basically on autopilot. She hadn’t even noticed that she dropped her helmet on the floor. All she could think about was how Cap was dead.

“Maybe… maybe he’s still out there, somewhere,” she mumbled, absently pacing around the hangar. “I mean, we didn’t see him go down. Besides, he could’ve bailed out.” She brushed a few loose strands of bleach blonde hair out of her eyes. “I just- he can’t be dead. He _can’t_ be.”

It took Natalie a moment to feel Skyline’s hand on her shoulder. “Winter…” Skyline’s voice trailed off, and her eyes looked down to the floor. “He’s- he’s gone,” she finally said after a long silence. “They all are.” She finally mustered the courage to look Natalie in the eyes. “I’m sorry.” 

Natalie just felt anger more than anything, but she didn’t know what or who she was angry at. Maybe herself for not doing more or Skyline for not telling everyone sooner. Perhaps she was just mad at the war in general. One thing she did know, however, was that she needed to vent, do something to calm down. She exhaled sharply before shoving past Skyline. “Just get the hell out of my way,” she muttered. “I need to be alone right now.”

“What about the debrief?” Wires asked her as she walked away.

Natalie ignored him and slammed the mandoor to the hangar shut. Under normal circumstances, General Myers would be the last person she or anyone else on the base would want to piss off, and keeping him waiting would undoubtedly do that. At that moment, though, she didn’t fear anything. Natalie pressed through the barracks, focusing on nothing but getting to her room. Her head had started spinning, and she was feeling sick to her stomach. The closer to her room she got, the more she felt like her legs were going to give way and leave her stranded on the floor. Luckily, though, she managed to make it and let out a heavy sigh of relief upon closing the door behind herself.

Despite wanting nothing more than to throw herself onto the bed and sleep forever, Natalie dragged herself over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Her skin was pale as the snow that had started falling outside her window, and she looked like she was going to throw up, which she did a few seconds later.

“Come on, Natalie,” she said to herself. “Get it together. You’re a Peacekeeper, dammit. That means you’ve gotta be an example for the Federation, and this is one shitty example you’re setting.”

After crawling back into the main part of her room, Natalie looked around. Despite feeling like shit, she still felt pissed, and she wanted to take it out on something. Finally, her eyes landed on just the thing, a small box with a few miscellaneous items. Her hand clenched up into a fist, and she hit it as hard as she could, sending it, and everything in it, flying. Already she started to feel better, but then she noticed a small folded up piece of paper on the floor that got launched from the box. Natalie groaned. She knew what it was, and yet, she found herself going to pick it up anyway. She sat down on the side of her bed as she unfolded it and started to read it.

“Natalie. I’m sorry you had to find out like this, or I guess I should be. We’ve been through so much together, so I suppose that’s why it took me so long to realize I have to do this. I still look back on those memories with some fondness- getting told we were going to be Peacekeepers, all that time we spent together at the Academy, our first kiss, they really were the good times. I just wish I never realized what you were becoming sooner, what Myers and the other Peacekeepers were shaping you into. I can’t deny it anymore, as much as I wish I could. That’s why I decided that I needed to leave. Don’t bother looking for me; I’ll already be long gone by the time you find this. I just hope that someday you can come to realize what the Federation is doing- what it’s making you do. Goodbye. -Jay”

Natalie felt her grip on the paper tighten until she yanked it in both directions, tearing it in half. Reading that note the first time around destroyed her. She didn’t understand why Jay would just leave without any warning, but now, watching that paper torn in half, she felt fantastic, so she did it again and again until the note was nothing more than a bunch of tiny scraps.

Suddenly, the door to her room opened, and Doc stepped in. “Hey, we’re starting the debrief in a minute. I figured you should probably be there for it.” He briefly looked around the room. “You uhh… feeling better?”

Natalie took a shaky deep breath in and out to calm her nerves. “I’ll be fine,” she decided. “Let’s go.”

“Well, it took you long enough,” said a tall man with gray hair and a stern look.

Having taken a moment for herself, Natalie had begun to come to her senses, meaning her fear of the man was coming back. All the same, though, she wasn’t going to roll over and take it. “With all due respect, General Myers. My friend and squadron leader is dead. Do you really expect me to just move on as if nothing happened?”

“Yes,” Myers quickly answered, glaring at Natalie. “Everyone else seemed to have no issues moving on, and you can bet the Coalition didn’t have any problems either. In fact, they’re probably celebrating right now. You’re the leader of this squadron now, so I’m going to hope you won’t disappoint.”

Natalie knew when to give up, and with Myers towering over her and shooting her a glare, she knew it was time. “Yes, sir. I won’t,” she said, dipping her head before rejoining the others.

“Now, I’m afraid there isn’t good news,” Myers said, turning his attention to the screen. “The European Coalition continues to push from the west, and the West African Concordat is doing the same from the south. To add to the shitshow, we’ve confirmed that the Republic of Albion has joined the European Coalition officially, and they’re now sending troops. Now that the city of Allessia has fallen, I imagine it’ll only be a matter of weeks before the Federation crumbles entirely unless Icarus Armories has something truly game-changing to show us at the meeting, but that’s not for a few days. With all that said and done, though, that’s still not all the bad news I have. We just received word that Peacekeeping Squadron Cerulean was shot down.” Myers looked over at Natalie, Wires, Hammer, and Doc. “Meaning you four are the last Peacekeepers in the Federation.”


	5. Thunder Island

Thunder Island Air Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 21st, 437 AC

3:15 AM Local Time

“It’s too fucking early for this,” Jay mumbled to himself as he trudged through the halls. He came up to a door leading into one of the barracks’ rooms and gently tapped his knuckles against it. “Hey, Nyx. You up?” he asked in a hushed voice. It was a stupid question, really, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Jay waited a moment, and once he didn’t receive any answer, he opened the door slowly to make as little noise as possible. He slipped in and closed the door behind him just as quietly. Since Tux’s bed was already empty and made, it didn’t take long for Jay to find Nyx, still wrapped up under her sheets.

He walked up and gently put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a light shake. “Hey, Nyx,” he said again, only slightly louder than before. “C’mon, gotta get up.”

Nyx stirred and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Samurai?” she asked drowsily. “What are you doing here? What time is it even?” She stretched her arms out with a yawn.

“Too early,” Jay answered. “But we’ve gotta head to the briefing room. Alston said he wanted everyone on the base present. Something important, I guess.”

Nyx scoffed. “Damn well better be if it means I’ve gotta wake up at this hour,” she muttered as she got to her feet. “Gimme a minute.” She grabbed her flight suit, which was crumpled haphazardly on the floor near her bed, and slid it on before walking over to the sink and taking the two pill bottles resting there. “Shit,” she cursed, emptying the first bottle and tossing it aside.

Jay briefly glanced down as it rolled across the floor and ended up at his feet. The label read _“SPIRONOLACTONE 150 MG TABLETS,”_ and black tape covered what was presumably Nyx’s name. “You out of hormones?” he asked, looking back up at Nyx.

“Out of T-blockers, yeah,” she replied with a nod. “I’ve still got enough estrogen left to last me a few more days.” She took a handful of pills from the second bottle. “That was the last of it on the whole base too. Not that there was much here, to begin with,” she added.

“Damn, that sucks,” Jay said, frowning. Having been present for the duration of his sister’s transition, he knew how disheartened Nyx must’ve felt running out of hormones. “And since we’re cut off, I suppose there’s no chance of a resupply any time soon.”

Nyx nodded as she briefly ran a brush through her hair to untangle it. “Yeah. Not really much I can do about it, though. Now let’s go see what Alston thought couldn’t wait for another couple hours.” She managed to sneak a bit of humor into her voice as she and Jay left her room and made their way over to the briefing room.

“Alright, everyone. I know it’s early, so I’ll try to keep this brief, so those of you that aren’t needed can go back to sleep,” Alston began.

“Those of us that aren’t needed?” Mustang whispered. “I sense a night op coming up,” he mumbled.

“As I said before, this base is crucial in the war,” Alston continued. “Due to its location, whatever side has control of it gets easy access to all of the Asean Republic, and I know it’s been hell trying to get to this point. We’ve lost a lot getting here, and we’re not even at the capital yet. Despite our efforts, though, the Loyalists seem intent on pushing us right back where we started.” He leaned on the table, and his eyes went up and down the room, making contact with everyone. “I will _not_ let that happen. Not after everything we’ve sacrificed to get here. With that said, we can’t stay here. Regrouping with allied forces is our only chance of survival. As you can see, this creates quite the predicament: we can’t stay here, but we can’t let this base fall into enemy hands either. Our solution? We destroy the base.”

“Is he nuts?” Nyx whispered.

A wave of murmurs spread the room, but Alston silenced them with a wave of his hand. “I know what you’re thinking, but there aren’t really any good options here. If there were, I would’ve chosen them as the course of action. Now listen up, here’s the plan.” He turned around and switched on the projector before putting down a slide with a map of the Asean Republic on it. “First thing’s first, we’ll need to get the necessary explosives to blow up this base. Cordium is _absolutely off the table_. After what happened in Cascadia, I don’t want to even think about making the same mistakes. Luckily, we won’t need it. Through our recon efforts, we’ve discovered that the Loyalists are turning this small base-“ He took a marker and put a red X on the coast of the mainland southeast of Thunder Island. “Into a supply depot. We’ll raid the depot to get the explosives we need, and after that, we’ll need to do some more recon to figure out how we’re going to get past enemy lines.” Alston took a step back and nodded to Cyborg, signaling for him to take the floor.

“Alright, this mission is going to be carried out by Paladin, so everyone else, go ahead and get some sleep,” Cyborg began.

“Ugh, of course, we’re the ones stuck with the night-op,” Mustang groaned as he leaned back into his seat. “Can’t believe this.”

Cyborg ignored him and put another slide under the projector, displaying a map of the area around their target. “Templar Team, you’ll be taking point on this operation. Knight Team is going to remain here in case the enemy attacks the base again,” he explained.

Jay looked over at Mustang, expecting some sarcastic remark, but Eagle covered his mouth to prevent that very thing. “So, what’s the plan, then?” Jay asked as he turned his attention back over to Cyborg.

“Varonis Squadron will carry our operator group, Ritari, and drop them north of the supply base, and you’ll be covering them,” Cyborg explained, taking a blue dry-erase marker and drawing an arrow from the sea right to the coast. “Once they land, Ritari will move south and take the outpost by surprise. Templar, once they make contact, your job will be to provide air support for Ritari and clear a spot for Varonis to land. Ritari will storm the base and grab the explosives we need and any other supplies they can find along the way.”

“Do we have any idea what to expect in terms of reinforcements?” Eagle asked. “Considering what we went up against last time, it’d be nice to know what to expect.”

Cyborg shook his head. “Unfortunately, our reconnaissance was unable to acquire intel on the Loyalists’ capabilities, but after last time, I’d expect some advanced fighters and maybe even an air cruiser or two.”

“Faaaantastic,” Mustang muttered. “Are we gonna figure out why the Loyalists have such fancy toys?”

“While Ritari is moving through the base, they’ll also be looking for any intel they can get their hands on,” Cyborg answered. “Even then, though, we can’t be sure that they’ll find anything at all,” he added hesitantly.

“All right, so that’s a solid maybe minus,” Mustang replied. “Sounds good,” he said sarcastically.

“You say that as if getting stuck in shit situations like this _isn’t_ our specialty, Mustang,” Jolt chimed in, giving him a friendly nudge on the shoulder.

“All right, Paladin,” Alston said, raising his voice to grab everyone’s attention. “You all know your jobs, so get moving and start preparing to leave.” He paused for a moment and cracked a small smile. “Besides, the sooner you’re done with the mission, the sooner you can come back here and get some sleep. Dismissed.”

“Eagle, how’re we looking so far?” Jay asked as his eyes drifted around the hangar at the rest of his team.

“Well, I don’t know about them-“ He gestured to Mustang and Jolt, who were sitting in their cockpits. “But I’m ready to go.” He looked up at his MG-29.

Jay nodded. “Alright, do me a favor and make sure they’re ready, will ya? I’ve got something I need to take care of before we go,” he explained.

Without another word, Eagle turned around and started walking over to Mustang and Jolt. “Quit dragging your asses, you two!” he barked. “We’ve gotta be ready to move out any minute now.” His voice allowed Eagle to be fairly intimidating when put together with his height and scarred face, which he took full advantage of when he needed to.

Jay smirked a bit, seeing Mustang and Jolt straighten up as Eagle approached before he looked over to his own F/E-4, which already had Nyx in the backseat. “Hey, Nyx!” he called up to his WSO. “Run our pre-flight checks for me. I’ve gotta do something real quick.”

Nyx looked up at the mention of her name before glancing at Jay and responding with a simple thumbs-up as she focused her attention back onto her cockpit.

After taking care of his team, Jay broke into a light jog and ran out through the hangar mandoor and over to the adjacent hangar, which housed Varonis’ transport planes. He looked over the group of people that slowly started to climb aboard the transports before spotting the man he was looking for. He was of average height, but aside from that, he didn’t have any identifying characteristics because he was wearing his usual combat uniform. “Hey, Gray!” Jay called out as he fast-walked over to the man.

Gray, better known as Ritari Actual, looked over at Jay as he approached. He smiled and gave the pilot a nod. “Hey, Samurai,” Gray greeted him. “You ready for this? Remember, we’re counting on you to keep us safe.”

Jay gave Gray a friendly nudge. “C’mon, as if you even have to ask that. We’ve bailed your asses out so many times that I’m beginning to lose count of them all.” His expression took a more serious tone. “Speaking of which, I’m here to cash in that favor you owe me.”

Gray raised an eyebrow, expressing his curiosity. “Whaddya need?” he asked.

“When you’re going through the base looking for supplies, I need you to keep an eye out for some meds: Spironolactone, 150 milligrams. It’s for Nyx,” Jay explained. “She ran out, and we don’t have any more on the base,” he added.

Gray smiled and nodded his head. “I gotcha, Samurai. I can’t really make any promises but don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye out.” The smile on his face shifted to a more playful one. “Just to be clear, though, if I do this for you, you’ll call us even for that whole thing in Ulaanbaatar?” he asked.

Jay rolled his eyes. “Yes, Gray. You do this, and we’re square,” he replied.

Before either of them got a chance to say anything more, the tower operator’s voice came over the intercom. “Paladin, prepare to take off!” he ordered.

“Well, I suppose I’d better get back to my guys. Keep your heads down out there,” Jay called back as he started to leave the hangar.

“Same goes for you too,” Gray responded before boarding one of the transport planes.

As soon as he stepped back into his own hangar, Jay was greeted by the sound of several engines spooling up. He quickly jogged over to his plane and climbed inside, putting his helmet on and sliding his oxygen mask over his mouth.

“We’re all set and ready to go!” Nyx reported. “Here’s to hoping this’ll bring us one step closer to finally ending this damn contract.”

“Gotta agree with ya there, Nyx,” Jay agreed. “I’ve had just about enough of this place to tell you the truth.” He looked over at the hangar doors as they slowly slid open. “But it’s like you said, with any luck, this mission will bring us closer to getting out of here.” He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his wingmen. “Templar Team, you all ready to go?” he asked.

“Templar 2, standing by,” Eagle reported.

“Templar 3, ready to go,” Mustang replied.

“Templar 4, ready for takeoff,” Jolt responded.

Jay smirked a bit. “Good. Templar Team, taking off.”


	6. Hit and Run

Rourke Peninsula Supply Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 21st, 437 AC

4:30 AM Local Time

“Hey, Stallion. You feeling alright?” Mustang asked the AWACS operator, breaking the long silence that had been present since they left. “You’re way quieter than usual, and that’s saying something,” he said snidely.

“Har har, screw you,” Stallion responded in a lighthearted tone. “Just remember that I’m the one who controls whether you show up as hostile or friendly on the IFF Templar 3,” he added. “We’re coming up on the base. Ritari, prepare to drop.”

“Ritari Actual, roger that. We’re ready to go,” Gray replied.

“Alright, Templar Team. Engage enemy ground defenses to clear a path for Ritari,” Stallion ordered.

“Wilco, Stallion,” Jay said as he got ready to make a pass over the base. “Let’s go make some cash.” He looked over his shoulder. “You ready, Nyx?”

“Not really,” she admitted. “It’s still too early for this. Let’s just get this done so we can go back and hopefully get some sleep.”

Jay let out a bit of a chuckle. “Yeah, I’m with ya there. Templar 1 engaging.”

The closest targets he could see were some patrol boats leaving as Templar Team made their approach. He angled the plane down toward the water and placed his machine gun reticle right over one of the patrol boats while locking onto a second with standard missiles. As soon as they had a solid missile tone, Nyx let a single missile fly, and Jay gunned down the other boat. There were still a few more trying to escape, but the other three made short work of them as they followed their flight lead over the base.

“Nyx, those UGBLs ready?” Jay asked.

Nyx nodded. “Yep, let ‘er rip, Samurai!”

Jay positioned the target indicator over a group of AA guns and APCs and let a single bomb drop as he pulled away. A brief moment passed before multiple targets came onto the killfeed on their HUD simultaneously. As Jay straightened out his F/E-4, he saw another group of ground vehicles in his sight, so he passed over them with a mix of machine-gun fire and missiles.

“This is Ritari Actual. We’ve got boots on the ground, and we’re pushing forward now,” Gray reported. “How’re things looking for us?”

“There’s still some enemy armor roaming about, but based on how Templar’s doing right now, it looks like they won’t be a problem for much longer,” Stallion told him.

Gray snickered a bit. “Hey, Samurai. Save some scratch for us. It’s hard for us to stay in the red when you keep stealing all the targets.”

Jay shrugged, even though Gray had no way of seeing it. “What can I say? Guess you’ve just gotta be quicker.”

“Samurai, missile on our ass!” Nyx cried out. “Evade it!”

As soon as Jay heard the missile alert, he pitched straight up into the sky, looking over his shoulder to try and spot the missile behind them. “Where’d it come from?”

“SAM launcher we just passed over,” Nyx answered. “Go figure, one of the only things we didn’t take out on our pass.” Her voice oozed annoyance as she spoke.

Jay deployed flares, and as soon as he confirmed that the missile had lost them, he looked back down to the ground below. “Guess we’ve just gotta make another pass, then.” He started turning to point them back down at the ground to get a clear shot, but the F/E-4’s maneuverability, or lack thereof, didn’t make it any easier for him. “God, I swear,” he muttered. “The first thing I’m doing once we get our paycheck for this contract is buying a new plane.”

“Gotta survive ‘till the end of the contract to get paid before you can do that,” Eagle reminded him.

Mustang scoffed. “Implying that Samurai and Nyx would get down by a random SAM launcher. Although, I suppose there’d be a bit of irony in them dying in one of the most mundane ways a merc pilot could go out.”

By the time Jay had completely turned around, the SAM launcher had already reloaded and fired another missile at them. He didn’t evade it right away, though. Instead, he waited until he was close enough to fire a missile before breaking off just before the missile could make contact with their plane, sailing off into the sky instead.

“Got any more wisecracks, Mustang?” Nyx asked before Jay could get the chance. “Or will you save them for when you buy us drinks tonight?”

“Oh, don’t you worry, Nyx. The day’s not over yet,” Mustang assured her. “You’ve still got time to screw up and need saving.”

Jolt laughed. “Right, keep dreaming there, Mustang,” he chimed in.

“Hey, Templar.” Gray’s voice immediately got Jay’s attention. “I hate to break up the playful banter, but can you deal with the APC near the main building? Once that’s gone, we can force our way into the facility,” he explained.

“I think I see the one you’re talking about,” Eagle said. “Don’t worry. It’ll be gone in a flash.”

“Stallion, how are we looking in terms of any QRF?” Jay asked the AWACS operator. “See anything?”

“Funny you should mention that Samurai,” Stallion replied. “I was just about to let you guys know that enemy interceptors are inbound from bearing 210, and they brought an Anura with them as well.”

Jay gave his radar a puzzled look as he looked at the new contacts approaching their position. “Where do they keep getting these things?” He quickly dismissed his own question. “Guess it was a good call to pack extra MLAAs, eh Nyx?”

“Yeah, I’m getting ‘em ready now. Mustang? Jolt? Either of you want a piece of the action?” Nyx asked as she switched to the MLAAs’ targeting, preparing herself as they got closer to the incoming reinforcements.

“What kinda question is that? Think I’d say no to more cash?” Mustang responded. “Now Jolt, on the other hand…”

“Hey! I’m not dumb enough to pass up more money,” Jolt objected as he and Mustang formed up behind Samurai and Nyx.

Jay laughed at his wingmen’s back-and-forth. “Alright, let’s stay focused, guys. Remember, they still outnumber us, and they have an Anura,” he reminded them.

“Templar!” Gray suddenly cut in, with gunfire in the background. “Just thought you’d like an update. We’re breaching the main building and clearing it out of hostiles now- shit grenade! Wait, it’s a flashbang-“ A loud bang cut through the radio. “Goddammit,” Gray muttered. “But yeah, we’ll keep you posted.”

“Good stuff, Gray. We’ll make sure everything’s good to go by the time you’re done,” Jay assured him. “Nyx, we in range yet?” He turned his attention back to the incoming hostiles, specifically the MG-31s speeding toward them.

“Just aboooout…” she slowly answered as the distance to the target got closer and closer. “Now! Templar 1, Fox 3,” she called out.

Four missiles shot out from under the wings of their plane and crashed head-on into the first four planes before they had any time to react. Jay and Nyx flew past the burning wreckage as it fell to the ground, with Mustang and Jolt right behind them, as they continued heading toward the rest of the incoming fighters with the Anura.

“Hey, guys. All the ground units at the base have been taken out,” Eagle reported. “I’ll be with you in just a second.”

“Nice work, Eagle,” Jay responded. “Stallion, we still good?”

“Well, considering we’re attacking a supply base to steal explosives so we can blow up our own base, I’d say probably not,” Stallion said sarcastically.

Jay rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean, smartass,” he said, smirking. “Are there any more reinforcements coming?”

“If there were, I would’ve told you already. Come on. You take me for some amateur?” Stallion asked, feigning offense.

“Of course we don’t, Stallion,” Mustang said. “We take you for a socialphobe because we know you,” he added with a snicker.

Jolt joined in as well. “Don’t think we haven’t forgotten about that time with the Prime Minister of New Reformia, Stallion,” he reminded the AWACS operator. “The amount of ass-kissing we had to do to get ourselves out of that mess was insane.”

Stallion let out a heavy sigh but didn’t say anything more, leaving Jay to focus on the enemies, which were finally in missile range. He started by firing two standard missiles at an SK.37, but they easily outmaneuvered Jay’s attack and pitched up into the sky, practically daring Jay to follow. Pulling back on the control stick, Jay followed the Loyalist fighter higher and higher into the sky while Mustang dealt with another fighter, and Jolt kept the Anura busy.

“Have I mentioned the fact that I hate how little maneuverability this damn plane has?” Jay asked, clearly annoyed by how difficult it was to keep up with the SK.37 he was tailing.

“Well, I guess it’s your fault for busting up your old F/F-18, then,” Mustang said.

“Hey, that wasn’t my fault, and you know it,” Jay replied defensively as he tried to get a few hits with his machine guns.

“Uh-huh, suuure it wasn’t,” Mustang replied sarcastically.

Jay ignored him and fired another standard missile at the SK.37, which finally took it down. After making a wide loop around, he looked to see whether Mustang or Jolt needed help before spotting another SK.37 coming up behind Mustang.

“Heads up, Mustang!” Jay warned, firing another MLAA salvo, which caught the SK.37 and a pair of F/C-15s off-guard and destroyed them. “I do believe that’s drinks,” he said with a smirk.

Mustang sighed. “Ah dammit,” he muttered. “Fine, fine,” he said dismissively.

“Looks like you boys could use a hand,” Eagle chimed in as he joined up with them. “How about we finish this up?”

“All right. Mustang, you go help Jolt with the Anura. Eagle and I will keep the fighters off your backs,” Jay ordered.

“Wilco,” Mustang replied, veering off from the enemy fighters and making a pass over the Anura, taking out a few of its defenses.

Since Eagle’s MG-29 was far more maneuverable than Jay’s F/E-4, he went after the SK.37s while Jay tended to the two remaining F/C-15s. He tried to hit them with another MLAA salvo, but they weren’t at a good angle, so neither of the missiles connected. After flying past Jay, one of the F/C-15s looped around and fired two missiles at him before he could fully turn around. Jay quickly rolled onto his left side and turned as hard as he could. As the missiles got closer and the alert in his cockpit got quicker, Jay launched flares just in case, not wanting to risk taking a hit. Fortunately, his maneuvering put him right in front of the second F/C-15, which he shot down with machine guns. Suddenly, Jay heard a loud boom and looked over to see the Anura catching fire as it slowly descended.

“Hell yeah!” Jolt cheered. “That was awesome!”

“Nice work, you two,” Jay praised them as he shot down the second F/C-15 with a single MLAA. “How are you doing, Eagle?”

“Just got the last fighter now,” Eagle reported. “And I believe that’s all of them.”

“Sure looks that way to me,” Jay agreed. “Stallion, are we clear?”

“Yep, picture clean,” Stallion reported. “Ritari, what’s your status?” After not receiving a reply, he asked again. ”Ritari Actual, report in,” he ordered.

“Holy shit…” Gray finally said. “You guys aren’t gonna believe this.”

“Oh god, that’s never good,” Nyx groaned.

“After we cleared the base, we started grabbing everything we could carry, explosives, ammo, supplies, and intel,” Gray explained. “We figured out where the Loyalists are getting all this advanced equipment from.”

“Hold that thought, Gray,” Stallion cut in. “Lemme patch in Alston, and the boss. They’re gonna wanna hear this.” There was a brief moment of pause before Stallion spoke up again. “Cyborg, General, Ritari Actual found out where the Loyalists’ advanced weaponry is coming from.”

“And?” General Alston asked. “Who’s supplying them?”

“It looks like not long after the fighting officially started, Supreme Commander Harrow was contacted by Henderson and MADB,” Gray explained. “They both offered funding and arms if they agreed to rejoin the Federation after they win the war.”

“What? But that doesn’t make any sense,” Alston mused. “Supreme Commander Harrow was the one that led the charge to liberate Asea from the Federation during the revolution three years ago. Why in God’s name would he agree to join them again?”

“You’d be surprised how strong of a motivator money is,” Cyborg said with a scoff. “How are things looking otherwise, Ritari?”

“Er, that’s the other thing,” Gray said awkwardly. “There’s a bit of a uh… complication.”

“What kind of complication?” Cyborg asked in a tone jay was all too familiar with.

“While we were looking through the base, we found something else… cordium,” Gray told them. “It’s a small amount, probably used to power their airships, but I don’t think we can just leave it here.”

“Well, we can’t blow it up, either, if that’s what you’re saying,” Alston told him. “Not after Cascadia. I don’t wanna be responsible for the entire Ring of Fire getting set off again. Give me a minute to think.” After about a minute, he finally spoke up again. “Just how much is there, exactly?”

“Not that much, honestly,” Gray answered. “They’re in these relatively small cases that have the Icarus Armories logo on them.”

“Alright, perfect. You’re gonna have to take it with you. I don’t much like it, but we don’t have much choice.”

“Alright. Let’s just hope it doesn’t blow up the helicopters,” Gray muttered.

“Templar Team, Varonis is circling back around to pick up Ritari. Once they’re up in the air, cover them and RTB,” Stallion ordered. “Let’s hope it’s not too light out by the time we get back.”


	7. The Free Republic

Thunder Island Air Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 21st, 437 AC

6:04 AM Local Time

As the engines on Jay’s plane started to quiet down, he took off his oxygen mask and let out a heavy sigh, relieved that everyone got back in one piece. Throwing the canopy open, he made his way down the ladder, skipping the last few rungs and jumping straight to the floor. Nyx followed behind him, and once everyone was back and accounted for, Jay made his way over to the hangar that Ritari and Varonis landed in.

Compared to Templar and Knight’s hangar, Varonis and Ritari’s seemed far more active. All sorts of conversations echoed around the hangar as everyone unloaded supplies from the helicopters. They did their best to organize everything into separate piles before it got moved to where it belonged. After quickly looking around the hangar, Jay spotted Gray talking with Alston and Cyborg and made his way over to them.

“So, how’d we do?” Jay asked as he and Nyx joined the group. “In terms of supplies, I mean,” he quickly clarified.

“Well, the most important thing is that we’ve got enough explosives to blow up the base,” Alston said. “And there was some vital intel that Ritari collected that we’re going to be using to plan our next move. However, there’s still the matter of this.” He held up the black case containing the cordium, which was entirely featureless aside from an Icarus Armories logo and a small electronic gauge on the front displaying the case’s integrity.

“It doesn’t seem that big,” Jay observed. “I thought cordium was usually transported in far larger quantities than that.”

“We looked inside, and the cordium is shaped into small rods. There’s 15 of them in total,” Gray explained. “We don’t have the slightest idea what it’s for, though. I can’t think of anything that’s able to run on that little amount of cordium.”

“What are we gonna do with it, though?” Nyx asked. “We really just gonna keep carrying it around? Taking it with us wherever we go?”

“We don’t have much of a choice,” Cyborg pointed out. “Besides, it’s small enough that we should be able to take it with us without any hassle.”

“I believe ‘should’ is the keyword there,” Gray said. “Regardless, we should be keeping our eyes open. Especially, after what we found out about Harrow. The Federation messing with cordium is never good.”

“Speaking of Harrow, I still don’t know what would cause him to turn to the Federation again, after everything he did,” Alston said. “How could the man who led the revolution against the Federation do a complete 180 like that?”

Jay scoffed. “I’ll tell you how: it’s in his nature. I’ve seen his type before. They only care about two things, money, and power.”

His mind immediately went to General Myers. To call the man intimidating would be an understatement. His eyes were like daggers, cutting through anyone’s will in seconds. If looks could kill, General Myers would have the highest kill count in the Federation, not to mention that he was a class A manipulator. If it wasn’t for Myers and his brainwashing, Jay might’ve been able to convince Natalie to leave the Federation with him, and for that, he hated the man.

“He probably only led the revolution so he’d get a shiny new position,” Jay guessed. “Men like him are all over the military, so it’s easy to spot one.”

“Still, I- I just can’t believe it,” Alston said. “After everything he did, just to undo it all.” He shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind. “Anyway, I’ll call everyone in for a debriefing soon. I want to make sure everyone knows our plan going forward.” He nodded to Cyborg and left the hangar.

“Oh yeah, Nyx,” Gray suddenly said as a realization hit him. “Before I forget, I’ve got something for you.” He took several pill bottles out of his bag and handed them over to the WSO.

Nyx looked at the bottles with a puzzled expression. “Spironolactone?” she asked as she read the label. “But how did you-“ She quickly put the pieces together and turned her gaze over to Jay. “Did you do this?” She couldn’t help but smirk a little as she asked the question.

Jay responded with a nod and a smile of his own. “Gray owed me a favor, so after you were talking about needing more hormones, I asked him to look for more while he was out,” he explained.

“Ah, it was no big deal,” Gray said, waving his hand dismissively. “We were grabbing more meds anyway.”

“Shit, Samurai. I don’t know what to say,” Nyx chuckled, looking down at the bottle before returning her gaze to Jay with a heartfelt smile. “Thanks.”

“Ah, you don’t have to thank me,” Jay told her. “It’s what friends are for, right? Come on, let’s go find the others and head down to the debriefing. You coming, Gray?” he asked, looking over at him.

“Nah, not yet. I’ve still gotta help get all this stuff sorted out,” Gray explained. “I’ll meet you guys there, though.”

“Alright, sounds good,” Jay replied before turning around and making his way out of the hangar with Nyx right behind him as the two of them headed into the main building.

“Alright, everyone, listen up!” General Alston called out, subsequently quieting everyone else in the briefing room down. “I have good news, and I have bad news. I’ll start with the bad.” He paused, taking a deep breath as he looked around the room. “We discovered that Henderson and MADB are supplying the Loyalists in exchange for Asea rejoining the Federation if they win the war.” He silenced the murmurs that rose with a wave of his hand. “I know this is troubling news. It’s surprising. Surprising that Supreme Commander Harrow would sell us out after everything he did, but this is why we fight. Because the people of Asea have had enough of Federation and their tyranny, we fight for those that can’t. We fight for Asea and the Free Republic!”

“For the Free Republic!” All of the Asean soldiers chanted.

Alston smiled as they cheered. “Now, for the good news. The Loyalists are about to go on the attack again. They’re gathering all of their forces at Anderson Island. This is the perfect opportunity for us to stage our breakout and return to friendly forces. We’ve been maintaining communications with the main force, and we’ve already got a plan of attack. Cyborg will explain.” He stepped back and nodded to the mercenary.

Cyborg started by taking a slide showing a map of Anderson Island and putting it onto the projector. “Once we leave and destroy Thunder Island, our main goal will be protecting the transports. As soon as we get close to Anderson Island, though, our fighters will move ahead and catch the Loyalists forces by surprise.” He took a blue dry-erase marker and drew a line from the bottom right corner of the map up to the island. “Then, allied forces from the frontlines will commence their assault from while the enemy is still confused.” He drew another blue line from the top left of the map down to the island. “While they’re preoccupied, our transports will slip right by and regroup with the main force. Meanwhile, we’ll continue our attack until the entire Loyalist assault force is wiped out.”

“Not only will we regroup with allied forces,” Alston added. “But with Thunder Island destroyed and a majority of their strength depleted, we can turn the tide of this war in a single blow. After this mission, we’ll almost have a straight shot to the capital, and we can finally put an end to this war. Until then, we need to make sure everything is ready to leave. I don’t want anything left behind, which means we’re gonna be working around the clock. Everyone pulls double duty. However, I think Paladin deserves a rest after their work today.” He smiled at the mercenaries.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Nyx said, standing up and stretching. “If you need me, don’t bother, I won’t be up for another eight hours at least.”

“Agreed,” Mustang said. “Soft bed, here I come.”

Jay smirked as he watched everyone from Paladin start to stand up and slowly make their way over to the barracks, all making some remark about wanting to sleep before eventually joining them.

“Y’know, the longer this whole thing goes on, the more it just feels so surreal,” Jay said as he took off his flight suit.

Eagle gave him a confused look. “What do you mean? The war?” he asked.

Jay nodded. “Yeah, this is our biggest contract yet. We’re about to help liberate an entire country. It just feels so strange that we have such a big part to play in it all.”

Eagle shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Although, I suppose this is also gonna be the best paying job we’ve ever had as well, especially because the Liberation Front would be way worse off if not for us. God, you’re right. That does feel weird now that I think about it.”

“Let’s just hope this mission goes as well as Alston and Cyborg hope it does because quite frankly, I’ve had enough of this place,” Jay admitted, sitting on the side of his bed. “We’ve already been here for like, five months. If this war goes on for much longer, I’ll go crazy,” he added with a smirk.

“Hey, Samurai, what do you think about having bigger jobs like this versus smaller jobs?” Eagle looked over at Jay as he laid down in his own bed.

Jay paused for a moment. It was a question that he never really gave much thought to. He looked up at the ceiling as he pondered the question. “I guess… I’d have to say I prefer bigger jobs, even if they do drag on. Because with smaller jobs, especially quick one-and-done jobs, I don’t really feel like I get much satisfaction out of them. It just feels like I’m a mercenary working for a paycheck.”  
“Aren’t you, though?” Eagle asked, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve always thought it’s what you do with the money you get that counts.”

Jay nodded. He understood where Eagle was coming from, considering whenever he got his money from a contract, he’d always send a portion of it to his family in the Tejas Republic. “I dunno,” Jay admitted, laying down on his pillow. “With the bigger jobs, like this one, I feel like what I’m doing matters- like I’m changing the world for the better.”

At that moment, Jay knew precisely why he thought the way that he did. Whenever he finished a big contract, he got to feel like he was making a positive impact on the world, which helped alleviate his guilt over being a Peacekeeper. For years he blindly flew with them and followed their orders without batting an eye. It wasn’t until Prospero and Presidia were burnt to the ground that Jay had his eyes opened, and he realized how misguided he had been. He may not have been able to undo all that he did, but helping those that needed it, like the Asean Liberation Front, was a start.

“That’s a good point,” Eagle admitted. “I guess it depends on where you came from and why you’re fighting.”

“Mhm,” Jay agreed. “Anyway, I’m gonna hit the hay.” He rolled over onto his side and shut his eyes. “If anyone comes looking for us, let me know,” and at that, he drifted off to sleep.


	8. Out of the Frying Pan

Thunder Island Air Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 25th, 437 AC

12:42 PM Local Time

“Well, this is it. Is everyone ready?” Jay asked as his eyes shifted between his wingmen.

Nyx scoffed. “Not like it would matter if we weren’t,” she pointed out. “This is a ‘be ready, or your ass gets left behind’ kind of scenario.”

“Exactly,” Cyborg cut in as he, Shades, and Tux joined the rest of Templar Team. “So you guys better be ready.”

“Oh, quit being so serious, boss,” Shades said, giving his flight lead a friendly nudge on the shoulder. “This ain’t the first time we’ve had to move bases on short notice.”

“Well, the explosives are all planted, which means we’ve got to get going,” Cyborg told them. “We’ve got 15 minutes, so get your stuff loaded into the transports and be ready for takeoff ASAP. I’ll be waiting in the hangar.”

“Got it,” Jay said with a nod as he slung his bag over his shoulder. He briefly looked back to his squadron before they all broke out into a light jog out of the main building and into Varonis’s hangar.

“This all your stuff?” A crew member of one of the two C/T-17s Varonis had asked.

Jay set his bag down, and the other four did the same. “Yep. Cyborg said we’ve gotta be gone within 15 minutes, so I’d advise you to get ready to leave.”

The crew member gave Jay a thumbs up. “Right, we’ll see you guys at the new base. Good luck on the mission.”

“Stay safe,” Nyx called back as they went over to their hangar. “Wouldn’t want our stuff to get sent to the bottom of the ocean,” she added with a playful smirk.

A light breeze danced through the sky as Templar and Knight went through their pre-flight checks as quickly as they could. Their exit window was getting smaller, but at the same time, they wanted to be sure that everything was ready to go. Because they were going into a large-scale battle, nobody wanted to take any chances.

“Hey, boys!” Jay called over to Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt from the seat of his F/E-4. “You all ready to go?”

Eagle gave Jay a thumbs up without looking up from his console while Mustang and Jolt said they were ready.

“Alright, let’s get ready for takeoff, then,” Jay replied. “Flight control is already gone, so we’ve gotta do it on our own.” He flicked on the engines and slid his oxygen mask over his face. Slowly, Jay and Nyx rolled onto the runway, with the rest of Templar Team right behind them. Just as Tux finished taking off, Jay took a deep breath, looking back at the base one more time before gently throttling up. The speedometer got faster and faster until they finally had enough speed to lift into the air. Before long, Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt were all up and flying in formation alongside Jay. Everyone was quiet until a loud boom shook everyone. They all looked behind them to see a chain of explosions tearing through the base. Jay felt a bit saddened by the fact that they were leaving Star’s final resting place behind, but he found solace in the fact that he would’ve been eager to move on to bigger and better things. Jay said a quick goodbye to the place that had been his home for just over a month before turning his attention back to the open sky in front of him as they flew toward their objective.

Anderson Island

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 25th, 437 AC

1:24 PM Local Time

“Paladin, Anderson Island is on the nose. You’re clear to engage,” Stallion informed everyone. “Templar, Knight, clear a landing zone for Ritari and the rest of the ALF ground forces. All Asean fighters, establish air superiority.”

“Roger that, Stallion,” Cyborg replied. “Knight, let’s focus on taking out the docked air cruisers before they can get airborne. Templar, take out as many ground defenses as you can.”

“Wilco, engaging now,” Jay replied as he turned toward the port and the myriad of targets waiting for them.

“Y’know, I was hoping that we’d get an easy mission for once,” Nyx grumbled as she switched to the UGBLs targeting. “But no, because every mission we have has to have more targets than a damn shooting range.”

“Aw, come on, Nyx. Show some enthusiasm,” he said, briefly turning around and giving her a wink.

“You want enthusiasm?” Nyx asked. “Oh yay! We get to throw ourselves at a sea of SAM launchers, AA guns, and railguns with no plan whatsoever. I’m so excited!” she cheered in a voice oozing sarcasm.

“Well, at least you won’t be doing it alone,” a new man’s voice chimed in. “This is Captain Valner of the Destroyer Sapphire. The ALF Naval Fleet is entering the AO now. Friendly aircraft aren’t far behind,” he reported.

“Hell yeah, now it’s a party!” Stallion exclaimed.

“Woah, it takes a lot to get Stallion of all people riled up like that,” Mustang observed. “We better savor it while we can.”

“Mission first, savoring later,” Jay ordered as he adjusted his course ever so slightly to give Nyx a clear shot on a group of AA guns, which all fell to one bomb.”

“Samurai, railgun headed our way!” Nyx warned.

Jay quickly veered to the left just before the shot from the railgun flew right past the spot where they were only seconds ago. “Remember, guys. Stay away from the trails these things leave behind,” he advised the rest of his team. “They’re hot enough to do some damage to your plane if you fly through them.”

“Ah, come on, Samurai. You say that as if we’ve never dealt with railguns before,” Eagle said.

“Heh, I know you numbskulls can always use a reminder every once and a while,” Jay said with a snicker as he pitched up into the sky before turning straight back down and destroying a group of SAM launchers with missiles and machine guns. “Ritari, I think we’ve got a clear enough area for you to land. Sorry, we couldn’t roll out the red carpet. Only so much we could do on our own.”

Gray laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Templar 1. We’ll make do with what we have. Much obliged for the landing zone.”

“Man, they really were planning on going all out on this attack, huh?” Shades asked. “Guess it was a good thing we got here when we did.”

“No kidding,” Tux agreed. “If we ended up going against all these air cruisers, we’d be in for a tough fight.”

“That’s exactly why we’re attacking them now,” Cyborg reminded his wingmen. “Now, let’s turn the tide.”

“This is Captain Valner. The Landing Ship Ruby has arrived at the island, and ground forces are commencing their assault now,” Valner reported. “Meanwhile, I’m gonna be taking the rest of our fleet and engaging their naval power.”

“Alright, happy hunting, Captain,” Stallion replied. “Knight, Templar, Statrep?”

“We’ve taken out about a third of the enemy air cruisers, but it looks like some of them are about to get airborne,” Cyborg said.

Jay grunted as he throttled up, bearing straight for one of the railguns as he held his finger on the trigger for his machine guns until his HUD displayed it as destroyed. “We’re making progress, but there’s a lot of targets here. It’s not gonna be easy to take everything out on our own.

“Well, I just got a report from our aircraft,” Valner chimed in. “They should be entering the AO in about five minutes. That’s when the cavalry really arrives.”

“Heads up, everyone. Enemy interceptors are taking off from the airport,” Stallion reported. Continue with your original objectives, but if they start going after the fleet, shoot ‘em down.”

Jay glanced over at his radar to make a note of where the interceptors were coming from before snapping his gaze back to the targets in front of him, a railgun, which he fired two standard missiles at to destroy it. “Templar 1, railgun destroyed!” he announced. He looked over his shoulder at Nyx. “How we doing on ammo?”

“Fine for now, but try not to go _too_ gung ho,” Nyx reported. “We can only load so much onto the phantom.”

Jay shrugged. “Alright, I guess I can live with that,” he said as he looked back at the battlefield in front of him. Suddenly, he noticed SK.27 flying straight at him, only for a missile to fly over Jay’s head and crash into the Loyalist plane, followed by the ALF fighter that fired it. “Nice timing,” Jay commented as the ALF fighter broke off to engage another fighter. “It’s nice not to be completely on our own.”

“Yeah,” Mustang agreed. “Here, I thought we’d be the ones winning this war all on our own,” he remarked with his usual dose of sarcasm.

“Hey, look on the bright side, Mustang. Even if we did end up winning the war on our own, think of the bonus we’d get paid for it,” Shades pointed out.

Jay rolled onto his side and banked right, straightening his plane out right above a row of fuel tanks, which Nyx quickly dropped a UGBL over as they passed it. His ears promptly picked up on the missile alert going off in his cockpit, and he instinctively pitched straight up before rolling back down after the missile lost them and destroying the SAM launcher that fired at them.

“All units, be advised, friendly aircraft are entering the AO now,” Captain Valner advised them. “The cavalry’s here!” he cheered.

Jay once again looked down at his radar and saw a new group of sixteen aircraft entering the AO and heading into the island. “Damn,” he remarked. “You really weren’t kidding, Captain,” he said with a chuckle.

“This is the true power of the Asean Liberation Front,” Alston explained, gunfire in the background. “Now, let’s push these Loyalists back!”

“Stallion, we’ve taken out all of the air cruisers,” Cyborg reported. “What are we up against next?”

“It looks like some of the Loyalist interceptors are going for our fleet,” Stallion observed. “I need you to cut ‘em down before they get too close. Our reinforcements will help establish air superiority over the island.”

“Wilco. Shades, Tux, form up on me, let’s go,” Cyborg ordered.

“Right behind you, boss,” Tux replied.

“Templar, how are things looking on your end?” Stallion asked.

Jay grunted as he jinked to avoid an incoming missile. “Well, I think we’ve taken out all of the railguns, but there’s still a ton of defenses on the ground,” he answered as he gunned down a pair of AA guns.

“It’s like they just keep coming,” Jolt added. “There’s no end in sight.”

“Well, with the railguns out of the way, that’s the most significant threat dealt with. For now, though, I want you guys to focus on keeping any more ships from leaving the port,” Stallion told them. “The Sapphire and the rest of the fleet have their hands full already, so I want to make sure they don’t get overwhelmed.”

“Roger that, Stallion. We’re on it,” Jay responded. “Nyx, how many UGBLs do we have left?”

“Three,” Nyx reported. “After that, we’ve only got STDMs and air-to-air missiles. Just our luck,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, this is gonna suck,” Jay agreed. “But, to be fair, UGBLs are a pain in the ass to use against ships anyway,” he pointed out. “If only we could load MLAGs onto this thing.” Jay sighed, longing to be able to fly an F/F-18 again.

Jay looped around and positioned himself to pass over the ships leaving port as Eagle, Mustang, and Jolt formed up behind him. The first ship he went after was the aircraft carrier. He adjusted his course, so the UGBL’s target indicator was ahead of the carrier, rather than on top of it, and reduced his speed to give Nyx a clear shot.

“Templar 1, bombs away!” Nyx called out as Jay pulled up to avoid the anti-aircraft fire coming from the fleet.

The bomb found its mark but wasn’t enough to sink the carrier. However, it did allow for Eagle to follow after Jay and finish it off. With the carrier out of the way, Jay pitched up as hard as he could, launching flares to avoid the missiles coming from one of the destroyers. Inverting his plane, he came back down straight above the destroyer, firing two standard missiles and hitting it with machine guns until it exploded. He pulled up at the last second, flying only a few dozen meters above the ocean’s surface before looping around and gaining altitude. Jolt slipped into formation with Jay, and together, the two of them swooped down toward a battleship and sunk it with their missiles.

“Looks like this fleet ain’t going anywhere,” Mustang observed as he and Eagle both finished off the last two missile cruisers. “Although, I think the others could probably use a hand in locking down the skies.”

“Well, we’ve still got plenty of AA missiles left,” Nyx said with a shrug. “Might as well. Just try not to make me throw up too much, Samurai.” She smirked, switching to the SAAs. “Let’s do it!”

“Hey, Stallion. How’s the ground assault doing?” Eagle asked as he dove into the hectic air war.

“General Alston reports that they’ve linked up with the main force, and they’re pushing through the port town now,” the AWACS operator reported. “If all goes well, we should be done in no time. Then again, this is us we’re talking about, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some BS came in at the last second and screwed everything up.”

Jay chuckled a bit as he locked onto an MG-29 and let Nyx guide the missile toward its target. “Yeah, trouble does seem to have its way of finding us whenever it’s least convenient.” He banked right and fired two standard missiles at an F/C-16.

“Hey, it looks like the Loyalists are starting to fall back,” Gray noted. “We’ve got ‘em on the run!”

“Good stuff, Ritari,” Stallion praised them. “Keep them on the back foot. Templar, Knight, finish mopping up the enemy aircraft. The finish line’s almost in sight. Time for one last push.”

“All of the Loyalists’ ships are sunk as well,” Captain Valner reported. “This is it, the turning point in the war!”

Jay throttled up, closing the distance between himself and his target, allowing him a much clearer shot with his machine guns. Then, he switched to MLAAs and looped around for a better shot. Two missiles shot out from underneath his wings, and both of them found their targets. Jay looked around for the last mark on the radar, turning to shoot it down, but Shades got to it before he could get a clear shot.

“This is the mercenary AWACS Stallion to ALCON. Retreating Loyalist forces have been deemed no factor. Looks like they’re running away with their tails between their legs.”  
“Is it that it, then?” Gray asked. “Is it over?” The sound of cheering was audible in the background.

Everyone waited for Stallion to confirm, but all they got was silence. “Uhh, Stallion?” Nyx asked. “We good.”

Finally, Stallion responded with a heavy sigh. “Not yet. We’ve got four bandits inbound from the northwest at high speeds. Aircraft type: F/S-15,” he reported. “IFF has these guys flagged as Icarus Armories Security, callsign Serpent.”

“Goddammit,” Jay muttered. “Fine, we’ll take care of ‘em. Templar Team, engaging,” he responded as he and his wingmen turned to engage the incoming threat.

“Wait… Icarus Armories? Do you think they’re here for the cordium?” Gray asked.

“I’m sorry, the _what_ now?” Captain Valner asked in disbelief of what he just heard.

“It’s a long story, Captain,” Alston told him. “We’ll explain later, but that’s gotta be it. I can’t think of any other reason why they’d be here.”

“Well, it’s not gonna matter, anyway,” Jolt said. “We’re gonna knock ‘em all down.”

“Don’t underestimate these guys,” Jay warned. “They’re flying next-gen fighters. Even a bad pilot can make good use of an advanced plane.” He’d gotten the chance to fly an F/S-15 back when he was a Peacekeeper, so he knew how deadly they could be.

Setting his sights on the lead plane, Jay yawed just enough to put them in the center of his gun sights. He fired a short burst, but only a few shots landed, not enough to destroy them. The lead F/S-15 made a sharp turn rapidly and ascended at high speed. Jay turned up to follow them, but by the time he had another shot, they already in the middle of another sharp turn, leaving Jay’s sight before he could get a shot off.

“God damn,” Nyx grunted. “These guys really are quick. Tracking them is a pain in the ass.”

“Tell me about it,” Jay agreed, backing off and putting some distance between himself and the F/S-15. “I can barely keep up with them.” He looped around as sharply as he could and switched to the SAA targeting. “Let ‘em have it, Nyx!”

“Templar 1, Fox 1!” Nyx called out as the missile shot forward, veering off and predicting where the F/S-15 was going to be before colliding into it.

“Hell yeah! Nice shot, Nyx,” Jay praised her, throttling up and speeding toward the damaged enemy fighter. “Now to finish him off.”

The F/S-15 banked right, nearly stalling as it made a full circle in barely any time at all. Now facing Jay and Nyx, the Icarus Armories fighter fired two missiles and twisted away again. Jay deployed countermeasures and turned away in the opposite direction of the F/S-15. Looking down at his radar, he kept a close eye on it as he sped up and started to turn back around. Once the F/S-15 made its loop, Jay moved his finger onto the trigger and shot forward, heading straight on with the enemy fighter. Both pilots unleashed machine-gun fire onto each other, and while the F/S-15 got one or two hits in, they weren’t able to withstand the hail of bullets coming from Jay’s F/E-4, and they spun down toward the water in a fiery explosion.

“You guys good?” Jay asked, panting heavily as he looked up to see the rest of his team finishing off their targets.

“Yeah, nothing more than a few scratches,” Eagle reported. “I’ve had worse.”

“That was… intense,” Jolt said. “Don’t know if I’ve been caught in a more intense dogfight.”

“Well, I suppose that’s just how it is when you’re in Templar Team. We get all the fun jobs,” Mustang said nonchalantly. “How we looking, Stallion? Are we in the clear?”

“Yep, all hostiles have been eliminated,” Stallion reported. “Form up with the rest of the ALF pilots. They’ll lead the way back to our new base.”

Jay let out a sigh of relief as he reduced his speed and slipped into formation with the large squadron of ALF fighters. “Well, I gotta say, it’s been a long fight, but now, things are finally looking like they’re shaping up.”

“The tide of the war is turning,” Cyborg agreed. “And now, it’s time for us to go on the offensive.”

Sterling Air Base

Asean Republic, Pacific Ocean

March 25th, 437 AC

2:33 PM Local Time

The new hangars were far more spacious than those they had back on Thunder Island, something Jay very much appreciated. He climbed down from his plane and tucked his helmet underneath his armpit, and made his way outside with the rest of Paladin. It didn’t take long for them to spot a man with a soldier on either side of him making his way over to them. He had dark brown, almost black, hair tied back into a ponytail and a beard to match it. It didn’t take long for Jay to realize who it was: Alex Maranno. He was the figurehead of the Asean Liberation Front and the man they would put in place as the new Prime Minister if they won the war.

“So, I presume you’re the Paladin Mercenary Corps?” he guessed as he walked over to them. He smiled, extending his hand out. “When we first hired you, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Now, though, it seems you’ve become quite popular among the Liberation Front.”

Cyborg dipped his head respectfully and shook his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“As have I about you,” Alex responded. “It seems I have you to thank for playing a major role in turning this war around. Thanks to your bravery on Thunder Island, you kept us from letting a major strategic base fall into the hands of the enemy. If you ask me, I think you’re all deserving of a significant bonus once this war is over,” he said with a smirk.

“Uhh, thank you, sir,” Cyborg stuttered, seemingly caught off guard by the reward. “We’ll make sure that we don’t let you down.”

Alex gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Oh, I’m counting on it. Now, there’s much to go over, plus I believe you still need to get settled in.” He turned around and led the group into the base's main building, where they would discuss how to end the war once and for all.


	9. The Hydra

Cloudfall Air Base

Yakutia, Federation Mainland

March 29th, 437 AC

11:57 PM Local Time

Natalie let out a shaky sigh, brushing a few loose strands of hair out of her face before letting her head fall into her hands. It had been over a week since Allessia fell, and Cap along with it, but she couldn’t get her mind off it. All she could think about was what would’ve happened if she’d stayed there with him if she’d done more to save him and the others. Her mind was racing at a million miles a minute, thinking about all the ways she could’ve saved Cap. Then, her mind went to Jay. If he hadn’t left, if he just stayed with the Federation, with her, then the two of them could’ve easily saved the rest of their squadron. Instead, he chose to be a coward. He put his ideals over her and the rest of the Federation. Not only that, but he ran away like a coward. The more she thought about him, the more anger started to build up inside of her. She needed some way to let it out. Her hand tightened up into a fist as she looked around for something to unleash her pent-up rage on. After a few seconds of not finding anything, she eventually settled for the wall. Her fist tightened, even more, bracing itself as it slammed into the wall, sending a wave of pain through her knuckles and up her arm. As much as it hurt her hand, though, it made Natalie feel much better, so much so that she considered doing it again. However, she stopped herself when she saw Wires pass by, then promptly stop and backpedal back to her room.

“You okay?” he asked, not in an antagonistic or facetious way but with a look of genuine care.

Despite the disagreements that Natalie and Jay were having before he left, she still cared for him, which made it all the more painful when he left with virtually no warning. She felt miserable after he left, but Wires was the one who stuck with her and helped her feel better. It made her appreciate him as a friend, and it brought them closer together in the sky. There was a trust between them that she didn’t have with anyone else.

“Does it look like I’m okay?” she finally asked, laying onto her bed and rolling over to face the wall.

Wires smiled, trying to lighten the mood a bit. “Yeah, you’re right. That was a bit of a dumb question on my part.” He sat down on the bed next to her. “You wanna talk about it?”

Natalie didn’t say anything, but she nodded without looking up. She hoped he would ask that for days since he was the only one that she felt comfortable opening up to. “I just… I can’t,” she said softly.

“What do you mean?” Wires asked, looking over at her. He paused, looking down for a moment before finally speaking again. “You missing Cap?”

Natalie nodded again, finally rolling over to face Wires. “I keep thinking about what I could’ve done differently to keep him from dying. I should’ve done more, but I guess what I don’t get is why he decided to put so much trust in me to lead the squadron.”

“You nervous about it?” Wires let his eyes drift around the room, so she didn’t feel like he was staring.

“I’m just looking at our situation, and it’s just… we’re so screwed right now. I don’t know how I’m supposed to lead us out of this. I’m scared that I’ll do something to royally screw up and get you all killed,” Natalie admitted. “Like I did with Cap,” she added hesitantly.

Wires’s gaze snapped back to Natalie. “Listen, Winter. You didn’t get Cap killed.” He was about to continue, but she cut him off.

“It’s my fault he’s not here anymore!” she snapped, sitting up. “I could’ve gone back to help him, but I didn’t.”

Wires paused, thinking about what to say before eventually taking a deep breath in and out. “You didn’t go back because he ordered you not to. He sacrificed himself so that you, me, Hammer, Doc, and all those other pilots we helped escape Allessia, could live. He wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t have faith in us, in _you_ ,” he pointed out.

“But why?” she asked, looking up at Wires. “Why did he put so much faith in me? Why did he think that I have what it takes to lead this squadron?”

“You’re a way better pilot than you give yourself credit for, Winter,” Wires told her. “You care about us, and when push comes to shove, you’re not afraid to take control of the situation to protect the ones you care about.” He put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. “I’d say that makes you more than qualified.”

For the first time, likely since Cap died, Natalie smiled, and she wrapped her arms around Wires. “Y’know, you really are good at this,” she told him.

Eventually, Wires broke off the hug and smirked. “Maybe I should be a therapist or something after all this is over, eh?”

Natalie laughed. “You’d be good at it,” she said.

A few seconds later, a young Federation soldier came into the room. “Excuse me? Captain Page?” he asked.

Natalie stood up, still feeling weird about being promoted. “Yes? What is it?”

The soldier straightened his posture. “General Myers is requesting you come see him at once. He’s in his office,” he reported.

“Alright, I’ll be right there,” Natalie said with a nod. She turned back around to Wires. “I’ll talk to you later, I guess.”

“Sure. Catch you later, Winter.”

Natalie broke out into a light jog as she made her way through the halls of the barracks and outside for a brief moment before coming into the main base. At that point, she slowed down to a brisk walk as she continued up the stairs and over to Myers’s office.

She reached out and lightly knocked on the door before Myers responded with, “Come in.”

Natalie opened the door and saw General Myers at his desk, with another man sitting across from him. He was dressed in a lab coat and had thick brown hair that went no further than his ears.

She stood at attention and gave the General a firm salute. “You wanted to see me, sir?”

Myers smiled, which was a rare sight. “Ah, Captain Page. At ease, at ease. I’d like you to meet Doctor Halsroy.” He gestured to the man sitting across from him. “He’s the Director of Research at Icarus Armories.”

“General Myers has told me quite a bit about you in the short time I’ve been here,” Halsroy said as Natalie sat down next to him. “He says you’re one of the finest pilots he’s ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

“Well, she’s the leader of the last Peacekeeping squadron in the Federation,” Myers explained. “She’s got to be good to fit that position.” He paused before finally looking up at the doctor. “A suitable candidate for Project Wingman, no?”

“Sir, Project Wingman isn’t even close to having a working prototype,” Halsroy said.

Any semblance of happiness on General Myers’s face instantly vanished. “The project was reactivated two years ago. Are you honestly telling me that in two years, you haven’t gotten to the point where you have a working prototype?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“We’ve had to essentially start from scratch,” Halsroy defended himself, raising his voice. “Although, we wouldn’t have had to do that if the Federation didn’t allow a mentally unstable Peacekeeper to steal our only prototype five years ago and used it to level an entire city before getting it destroyed by a mercenary.”

Myers stood up and glared at Halsroy as if he had reached across the desk and slapped him. Already, Halsroy was regretting what he said, but Myers didn’t stop there. “I think it would be wise of you to watch your tone, Doctor. Need I remind you that you’re on _my_ base?” He leaned in close, putting only a few inches between himself and Doctor Halsroy. “Quite frankly, Doctor, I don’t think you want to know how I keep everyone in line.”

“I- Sir… I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Halsroy fumbled over his words as he tried to explain himself. “It’s just- er, we’ve run into a complication.”

“What kind of complication?” Myers asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

“One of the improvements we’ve been making to the mark two is making it run leaner,” Halsroy explained. “We’ve managed to reduce the fuel input into small cordium rods, which we had being delivered from the Asean Republic, but it apparently got seized during their civil war.”

“So, you’re telling me that the only fuel for our advanced fighter prototype has been stolen by rebels?” Myers demanded, raising his voice.

Halsroy flinched at Myers’s anger. “We sent one of our security teams to try and retrieve it a few days ago, but we’ve heard nothing from them.”

“Doctor, can you tell me if there’s anything- _anything at all_ that you have to tell me that would make me not want to drag you off my base?” Myers asked. “Or did you request this meeting for the sole purpose of convincing me that you’re useless?”

Doctor Halsroy took a deep breath, averting his gaze from Myers for a moment and collecting his cool. “General, I requested this meeting because I have good news, fantastic news, as a matter of fact. One of the reasons developments with Project Wingman has been so slow is because we’ve been focusing on another project, and that project has finally been completed.”

“And what is this project, then?” Myers asked. He maintained his stern expression on the outside, but on the inside, he was intrigued. “What is it that makes it so much more important than the advanced fighter that we’ve spent years developing?”

Doctor Halsroy, clearing feeling a lot more confident than he was a minute ago, took a sizeable rolled-up piece of paper from inside of his coat and unrolled it over Myers’s desk. “Behold! The Hydra!”

Natalie looked over the paper and saw a complex series of blueprints. “What is it?” she asked, not understanding what the writing on the blueprints meant.

“This is the key to victory for the Federation. More specifically, though, it’s a one-of-a-kind air cruiser,” Halsroy explained. “It’s by far the largest air cruiser ever built, and its size is attributed to one of its main features. The Hydra is actually three identical air cruisers that can connect or disconnect at will. Each one is built with exactly the same features, which I’ll get into in a moment, and is perfectly capable of winning a battle alone or with its other counterparts.”

“You have my attention, Doctor,” Myers admitted, leaning back in his chair. “Go on.”

“As I said, each Hydra cruiser is built identically. First and foremost, they’re all equipped with the standard weaponry you’d find on any air cruiser: AA guns, SAM launchers, CIWS, railguns, etcetera. These alone would make each of them a formidable threat, but that’s not all we’ve equipped them with. All three of them are fitted with four burst missile launchers, allowing them to take out dozens of targets, air, and ground alike, in a single salvo. Finally, they all have an ECM defense system onboard, which will repel incoming enemy missiles. Individually, they’re a formidable weapon, but together, they’re unstoppable.”

“Hm… I must admit, you certainly have outdone yourself, Doctor,” Myers admitted. “Quite frankly, you would’ve been better off leading with the Hydra rather than pissing me off with Project Wingman.”

Halsroy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah, that uh… might not have been my best approach,” he admitted.

“So then, when will the Hydra be ready for use?” Myers asked, impatiently drumming his fingers against his desk.

Doctor Halsroy smirked. “It’s already on its way.”


End file.
